Degree Name
MA (Master of Arts)
Program
Psychology
Date of Award
8-2018
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Stacey L. Williams
Committee Members
Ginette C. Blackhart, Julia C. Dodd
Abstract
Sexual minorities face identity-specific stressors (minority stress). Minority stress often predicts worse health outcomes and behaviors, like increased substance use. The current study examined the relationship between proximal minority stress and hazardous alcohol use. Possible mediators were considered. The current study involved a secondary data analysis of data from 48 sexual minority women who completed an online survey. Measures included the Lesbian Internalized Homophobia Scale, the Connectedness to the LGBT Community Scale, the AUDIT-5, the Drinking Motives scale, and an item that measured frequency of drinking. Data, analyzed via R, included t-tests, correlations, regression, and mediational analyses. Results showed that internalized stigma significantly predicted concealment. Community connectedness was neither predicted by internalized stigma nor correlated with concealment. Concealment did not predict coping motives; coping motives significantly predicted problematic drinking. Limitations included a low sample size and low observed power. Therefore, significant results may be found with a higher sample size.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Job, Sarah, "Proximal Minority Stress, Drinking Motives, and Alcohol Use in Appalachian Sexual Minority Women" (2018). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3440. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3440
Copyright
Copyright by Sarah A. Job.